Tripp Lumber Company

For all your custom lumber needs.

Dave Tripp, owner and president of Tripp Lumber Company is candid about the success of this 24-year-old remanufacturing plant which is located in Missoula, Montana.

At Tripp Lumber, once we get customers onboard with us, we keep them. We value that personal relationship with them. Success in this business hinges on providing quality products and being able to adapt to changes in the industry. But most importantly, the lumber business is about people. It's about service and treating people with respect.

Commitment to solid relationships with customers is a goal originally set for Tripp Lumber by Dave's father, Don Tripp, who introduced his family to the lumber industry in the 1950's when he transported lumber. While a teenager, Dave joined his father in the business, and by 1977, they had expanded their services from three trucks to 50. In the 1980's, as the lumber industry endured a stifling recession, the Tripps forged new paths as businessmen. Don Tripp continued transporting lumber while Dave pursued inroads into lumber production, which led to the formation of Tripp Lumber Co.'s remanufacturing plant in 1985.

Tripp Lumber's products have evolved through the years, and now the company specializes in several specific items, such as quality log siding. Even television stars have taken notice of Tripp Lumber's superb craftmanship. For example, Marg Helgenberger, who portrays Catherine Willows in the hit CBS-TV show CSI, recently built a home of various log products, such as 1x10s, that were manufactured by Tripp Lumber.

As recently as seven years ago, Tripp Lumber did not produce mass volumes of log siding. In recent years, however, that scenario completely changed. We are now one of the top 3 producers of log siding in the industry.

Our ability to change and find niche products to market are key to our overall success. Through the years we have made and perfected new products htat our customers, who are wholesale distributors, appreciate for the quality work we do. Also, we offer our customers the most competitive prices around.

We listen to our customers, find out what they need and then we make it. We also offer added value through various services, and we can do all this while promising a turn-around on the product within two weeks.

Installation of new equipment in recent years, including Yates American A20 planers, chop saws, trim saws and a resaw, has facilitated faster production, thus faster deliveries from Tripp Lumber Company. Products manufactured include Grizzly Hewn Log Siding, which does not look manufactured and appeals to may of our customers due to its rustic appearance.

Inland lumber species, such as Lodge Pole Pine and Douglas Fir, are primarily used for Grizzly products. However, Tripp Lumber manufactures smaller quantities of siding in White Fir, Cedar, and SPF.

We also offer such items as 2x6 and 2x8 tongue and groove boards for floors and ceilings to complement its log siding. We found these products tend to appeal to customers who are building either log homes or luxury homes. The customer wants consistent look for their entire home, rather than have just the exterior of the home appear to be a log home. For these customers we also produce 1x6 and 1x8 pattern boards for interior paneling, as well as circle sawn 1x6 for flooring and 1x8 for flooring.

Tripp Lumber further enables customers to assimialate the "log cabin look" in their homes by manufacturing accent items, such as log corners, posts, beams, stair railings and stair treads. We have the complete interior and exterior log home package to achieve this; from the 30-foot long, 10-inch in diameter log for use in making trusses to the 2x6s and 2x8s. We manufacture ALL of it.

Tripp Lumber Company is capable of producing 250,000 board feet per day at its 6 acre facility. its inventory is maintained at 5 million board feet in a variety of widths and thicknesses, ranging from 1x4 to 3x10 in Lodge Pole Pine, Hem Fir, Ponderosa Pine and Cedar.

Our customers are located in every state in the United States, however, it products are in highest demand in the South, particularly Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina and South Carolina.

We believe a need will always exist in this industry fo rmore product, and for new and creative ideas. We will continue to find ways to develop and produce these products to the best of our ability. One new product that we predict will be "huge" in thet market in the near future is Tripp Lumber's Brazilian hardwood decking program, which is geared toward outside decks as an alternative to composit decking.

Overall, our secret to success is simple; We cater to making products that people want. This has worked for us for decades, and I'm proud to say that some of our customers have faithfully been with us for more than 37 years.